I don't have the words to say!

I have been quite distraught and frankly paranoid about my technical writing attributes for the last six months. I spend countless hours writing and re-writing an email, resume or even on this forum - hoping I do not come off as a fraud. As I move further into my career, I have realized that soft skills both writing and speaking are now as necessary as my technical proficiency. Could someone lend me some words of wisdom, in a book, class or even an online college that can help this poor writer find his way?

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636-555-3226

pick up a good gmat study book. lots of grammer stuff in their

joemc3

My lady is a lawyer and I can never hope to write how she does. It will blow your mind....
I have to work and continue to work on my writing. I am in a a senior role and everything I write is read by many. If you are talking about standard business communication, follow up emails, requirement gathering, etc. I would say find a format and wording templates and then make minor adjustments needed for you to communicate. It might sound odd, but your communication should have some form to it. Until you get better at this might be a decent route for you. One of the easiest ways to make it look more professional is formatting. I will provide a samples below. There are many examples and information on websites on this subject. Hopefully, you found some of this helpful.

[FONT=&quot]Dear Ms. Abike:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thank you for inquiring about the email software advertised on my blog. Each of the listed software functions uniquely on different platforms. Before I recommend a particular one, I would like to know a bit more about you and your needs:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1. What kind of business do you handle? Are you self-employed , manager or a business owner?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2. Will you be using the software on a mobile device or computer? Is your computer a Mac or PC?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3. What kind of emails do you send most often? Are they replies to customer questions, business-to-business information or just emails for team members?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Once again, thank you for your interest in purchasing some of the email software advertised on my site. I hope you will find them suitable for your business needs.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Cordially,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]

Dear Mr. Kinkar:
Find attached the email marketing course you requested. As I said on my website, I’ll keep sending updated versions of the course from time to time. Ensure you carefully study the first chapter of the course. It will provide a solid base on which every other information in the course anchors.
I hope your email campaigns are already bringing good results. Let me know if I can be of assistance in any way possible.
Yours truly,

[/FONT]

the_Grinch

There is definitely something to be said about lawyers and their ability to write (I'm probably partial though). Soft skills are definitely very important and I would argue that when you are starting out in IT they are more important than technical skills. I actually have a very odd suggestion, but I think it would really help you out: read technical case law. There are numerous cases revolving around computer fraud and abuse that are probably the best combination of technical explanations and well written material. Best part? You can get read them for free. Some of the legal terms may require you look up a word or two, but I believe it would assist you. Cases to review:

US v. Nosal - https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6467165848291343398&q=nosal+v+us&hl=en&as_sdt=6,31

Lewisville, Texas Systems Administrator Convicted of Federal Violations <---really recent case

EF Cultural Tours - https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2683575157740054983&q=ef+cultural+travel&hl=en&as_sdt=6,31

Good luck!

STXRGF

the_Grinch wrote: »

There is definitely something to be said about lawyers and their ability to write (I'm probably partial though). Soft skills are definitely very important and I would argue that when you are starting out in IT they are more important than technical skills. I actually have a very odd suggestion, but I think it would really help you out: read technical case law. There are numerous cases revolving around computer fraud and abuse that are probably the best combination of technical explanations and well written material. Best part? You can get read them for free. Some of the legal terms may require you look up a word or two, but I believe it would assist you. Cases to review:

US v. Nosal - https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6467165848291343398&q=nosal+v+us&hl=en&as_sdt=6,31

Lewisville, Texas Systems Administrator Convicted of Federal Violations <---really recent case

EF Cultural Tours - https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2683575157740054983&q=ef+cultural+travel&hl=en&as_sdt=6,31

Good luck!

Great info. Thank you!

Russ5813

The Elements of Style by William Strunk is a fantastic reference for writing with greater clarity and consistency.

NetworkingStudent

Here some links:

For overall IT soft skills, check out this site:
Learn How to Exceed Customer Expectations from The Compassionate Geek - Don R. Crawley

Don has lot of videos and articles on communicating over the phone.

Email Communication:
Writing Effective Emails
Getting People to Read and Act on Your Messages
https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/EmailCommunication.htm

The public speaker podcast, is a great podcast that will help you improve your communication skills.
"I provide counterintuitive, ultra-practical, science-based tips at the intersection of leadership, psychology, and communication. Your success is my business."

The Public Speaker :: Quick and Dirty Tips

Good Luck

tedjames

Enroll in advanced grammar, composition, and technical report writing courses at your local community college.

GSXR750K2

I quite often see emails with flawless spelling and that are syntactically correct, but the intended meaning is often obscured by intricate words for the sake of flourish and verbosity. Kind of like what I did there...it sounds pretty, but it was an overly complicated to say "Some people who know how to write well don't necessarily know how to write well".

Technical writing is all about knowing who you are writing to so you can know how to write what they need to know, which can drastically change based on the audience. Work on conveying the meaning of your message and you'll find your style and feel confident about it. Everyone writes differently, so there's no way for anyone to consider you a fraud based entirely on how well, or how poorly, you write. If you are knowledgeable in your area of expertise it will come across to the reader, even if you have a few grammatical mistakes in the document. Ask friends or family to review something you've written and get their feedback on whether or not they understand the content.

You're on the right path...in a world where "thx" is an acceptable form of showing gratitude and some emails are completely void of proper punctuation or capitalization, being concise and eloquent are very noble goals.

ZzBloopzZ

Russ5813 wrote: »

The Elements of Style by William Strunk is a fantastic reference for writing with greater clarity and consistency.

That's funny because many sources point to this book. Authors, bloggers, marketers, millionaires etc. It's been on my to buy list for the longest time. Thanks for the reminder!